US Congress Member references “Leeroy Jenkins”

Typically, who votes for who is the only thing that matters on voting day. On this occasion, though, how someone decided to express their vote left an impression on everybody as the 118th Congress elected a new speaker of the house – or tried to.

As Rep. Jared Huffman voted for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, he chose to do so very enthusiastically, yelling ‘Hakeeeeeeem Jeffries’. The noise that followed was similar to when there is a very long rally in a game of tennis. A buzzing sound of everyone going, ‘do you know what this means’? A mixture of confusion and wonder.

Afterward, Huffman took to Twitter and said this:

“If Republicans are going to make us sit through this repeated self-flagellation, we might as well make it memorable.”

From @LauncherWP: At the 118th Congress to determine the next House speaker, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) voted for “Hakeeeeeem Jeffries!”

His vote had a delivery reminiscent of Leeroy Jenkins, a viral internet character who has been a popular meme. https://t.co/JwgerX1Zw3 pic.twitter.com/cpLuN9OuCm

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 4, 2023

After he yells out this name, the whole place appears stunned, as if someone has broken through every convention. Considering the nature of the room, it is likely that almost everyone there was left wondering what on gods earth he was referring to. I am sure, though, that many of you reading this would have picked up on the reference immediately.

The Legend that is Leeroy Jenkins

For those of you who have yet to see this infamous video, you are in for a treat. World of Warcraft was a hugely popular fantasy game that millions of avid gamers enjoyed. In this video, a player named Ben Schulz controls the character of Leeroy Jenkins. At the time, he had no way of knowing that 17 years later, there will still be references made to those brief moments of gameplay.

In the video, you can hear a very elaborate battle plan being developed. So detailed is this plan that one of them asks for a chance of survival to be determined which comes to 32.33%. They are determined to give themselves the best chance of success, and the specifics of this plan make what follows hilarious.

The person controlling the ‘Leeroy’ character is not at his keyboard. Therefore he is unaware of the plan being discussed and rushes into the building shouting, ‘Leeeroooy Jennnkins!’ He humorously does this, and his attitude couldn’t be further apart from his friends, who set up a detailed plan that can best be stereotyped as wonderfully nerdy.

This clip has since become part of meme legend, so if you hear someone shout this name, you now understand where this originates from. It is typically used to express bravado. Therefore if you are playing any game in the future and don’t particularly fancy discussing some elaborate plan, shouting Leeroy Jenkins as you go head first into all of your challenges might be the best way to deal with some issues.

Overall it is a beautiful thing about our culture that some brief moments of gameplay that nearly occurred two decades ago can be referenced and still enjoyed by many. I am also pleased to inform some of you of this video, so you won’t be confused when someone decides to recycle this hilarious meme again.